Contents

Chapter 1

The Bottomless Things Of God

Chapter 2

You're Never Too Old To Learn

Chapter 3

Life Is A School

Chapter 4

There Is A Price To Pay

Chapter 5

The Wisdom Of Man Is The Foolishness Of God

Chapter 6

The Church In The Middle Ages

Chapter 7

God Knows More Than Us

Chapter 8

Paul Tells His Story

Chapter 9

The Comforter Has Come

Chapter 10

It Is Time To Grow Up

Chapter 11

The Realms Of God

Chapter 12

Living The High Life

Chapter 13

Christ Has Come In The Flesh

Chapter 14

Taught By The Holy Spirit

Chapter 15

Speak With Boldness

Chapter 16

Follow The Unction

Chapter 17

The Prayers Paul Prayed

Chapter 18

Conclusion

Biography

CHAPTER

1

The Bottomless Things Of God

I WANT TO DISCUSS in this book a subject that has been on my heart for several years now. It is the School of the Holy Spirit.

On the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that,] God has prepared—made and keeps ready—for those who love Him [that is, for those who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].

Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the (Holy) Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God—the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny.

I Corinthians 2:9-10 (Amp)

The Bottomless Things Of God

Isn't that a powerful verse? Let's look at it again, because I want you to think about what it says here: "The Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God, the divine counsels and the things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny." The Holy Spirit is actually sounding the profound and the bottomless things of God. Then it goes on to say:

For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him?

Just so no-one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Now we have not received the spirit (that belongs to) the world, but the (Holy) Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts (of divine favour and blessing so freely and lavishly) bestowed on us by God.

And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the (Holy) Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the (Holy) Spirit].

But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them—of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming better acquainted with them—because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.

I Corinthians 2:11-14 (Amp)

In our natural lives, we go to school and learn to read and write. I want you to know that there is a place of learning which is known as the School of the Holy Ghost, where we are taught the bottomless things of God. We never really graduate from this school: we are in the learning process from the time we are born again until the time we die.

CHAPTER

2

You're Never Too Old To Learn

I HAVE AN UNCLE WHO IS 88 YEARS OF AGE. He went into the ministry when he was 16 years old, and he is still alive today and still preaching. He is a professor of Theology and holder of many degrees. He founded one of the main Pentecostal theological seminaries in South Africa. He started it back in the thirties, on his front veranda. He also was moderator of one of the biggest Pentecostal denominations in the country for many years. (A moderator is the head of a denomination.)

I know for a fact that he studied the epistles probably a thousand times each, doing extensive studies on each of them. I can remember as a child, when our family would go to visit him. I was in awe of him because every time he opened his mouth I would learn something. So I learned to keep my mouth shut and listen.

His in-depth dissertations of the Scripture could make your head spin! He could open up to the book of Ruth, chapter one and spend five hours on the first three verses!

He has traveled the whole land of Israel probably thirty-four times. He knows more than the tour guides because he understands Greek and Hebrew and he has studied Bible history extensively.

I can remember the many times we would spend four or five days with my uncle. We would start the day around the breakfast table talking about the Bible and the things of God until ten or ten-thirty. Then we would move into the living room, have some tea, and continue the discussion. The dinner bell would ring at one. We would go back to the kitchen and have lunch, then come back into the living room for the afternoon, then back to the kitchen for supper. The whole day was spent just talking about the Word and the things of God.

The last time we visited like that was about twelve years ago. I clearly remember him looking at me during a discussion and telling me that he felt he "knew nothing."

I looked at him and I thought, "Well that really helps me! I really do appreciate those words. Here you are a theologian, with every degree under the sun, and you're telling me you know nothing. I really feel encouraged about life, I really feel encouraged about the future, because I thought your knowledge was at the top of the chart and if you know nothing then I don't even make the chart!"

CHAPTER

3

Life Is A School

ONE OF THE FACTS OF LIFE is that we are constantly learning, from the time we are born, till the time we die. Just with our five physical senses we learn things right from day one. We start off learning to crawl, then we begin to walk. They say that a baby, even before it can talk, actually makes every sound that could be made for any language on the planet: a baby can actually articulate all the sounds it would need to speak any language on earth. Isn't that amazing? God gave a baby that ability so that it can learn the language of its parents with ease.

It is also amazing how children can pick up on different languages just by being around them. It happens so quickly, so easily.

If we look at the world as it is today, we see how knowledge has increased. Anybody can tell you that from 1900 until now, just 95 years, how knowledge has increased. They tell us today that the knowledge available to man doubles or trebles every six years. We are living in the days where the computers are advancing so fast that just a few years ago the 386 was the best computer. Now we have the 486 and soon it will be the 586. Everything is advancing so fast they cannot even make the software to keep up with the technology. That's how rapidly things are developing.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that from the year 1900 until the year 1995, knowledge has literally exploded to the point where we have moved to a global Internet, with the Information Super Highway. We have children who are locked into the world of computers, who live in a world of virtual reality. If our grandparents or great grandparents could see the way we are living today, some of them would have a heart attack on the spot—they wouldn't believe that we could be this advanced.

If Jesus Tarries?

Looking forward to the next twenty-five years, if Jesus tarries, you might wonder where all this is going to end. Things that were science fiction twenty years ago are a living reality now. Think about it: thirty years ago there was no such things as a personal laptop computer. If they had a computer, it took up four or five stories of the building. Today it's getting smaller and smaller—you can carry it around!

All this change is coming from natural, human knowledge.

Moving With The Times

Let's go back 400 years ago. Every one of these things would have functioned back in that time period, but nobody knew about them. A 747 would have flown in the year 1600, but nobody knew about the 747. The Wright Brothers did not invent flight, because birds had been flying long before the Wright Brothers. The Wright Brothers found out how to fly.

The early pioneers of flight paid the biggest price, because some of them were not able to come back the next week to test out a different theory. After the inventor went to the top of the hill, strapped on the feathers, flapped his arms and jumped off the cliff, he wasn't able to come back to say, "Na, it didn't work, I'll try something else." Some people paid with their lives to get us from no flight to sitting in a 747 going across the oceans of the world.

Today, we have so many things we take for granted, like electricity and air conditioning. But we forget that many people spent their whole lives working on these inventions. Some even lost their lives in pursuit of the advancement of knowledge.

CHAPTER

4

There Is A Price To Pay

SOMEBODY HAS PAID THE PRICE FOR YOU to be

where you are today, so that you can know and learn these things and be so advanced. We have computers today, with whole encyclopedias on CD-ROM, that will display visuals and play video sound bites of presidents' speeches and show different events that took place in history. We can print these things out and have knowledge at our finger tips, at the press of a button.

That which was science fiction years ago, is today a living reality. Will that which has been science fiction for the last eight years become a living reality in the next twenty-five years if Jesus tarries? The things that men have been able to dream up, later they have been able to produce.

If you study history, you will see that the ancient explorers, many of them sent out by the church, have paid a price. Let's take Captain Cook for example. Captain Cook was the man who discovered the Hawaiian Islands. Today, we can go over there to have a vacation, but Captain Cook ended up dying on those islands. He paid the price.

Overcoming The Fear Factor

Many of the ancient explorers believed that the earth was spherical. Some were criticised and some were even killed by the church, because the church said, "No, it's flat." You can imagine the pressure on Christopher Columbus:

"Oh, you're setting sail today. Do you know where you are going?"

"No, I don't know where I'm going."

"Well, you know, there are monsters out there. They're going to get you!"

You have to deal with your crew, you have to deal with everybody else around you, you're setting sail for you don't know where. This is not very long ago when you think about it. We're only talking a few hundred years ago, it's not that far away in the span of human history.

Many of these pioneers paid the price with their lives, but it was those who were bold, those who followed their hearts, who said to themselves, "There has got to be something else out there, there has got to be something beyond that horizon, and I'm going to go there."

All the voices around them said, "You can't do it, you'll never make it!"

But they said, "Yes, we can, we'll just press on beyond that horizon. Let's just sail another day. There has got to be land out there." When they had traveled so long and so far that the sailors were dying of thirst, hunger, or scurvy, suddenly somebody from the crow's nest would shout out, "Land, land!!"

Can you imagine the joy as they found the land? So many of us today are in other parts of the world because somebody left, somebody went out, somebody was sent out before us to make the way.

Now, if a 747 would have flown in the year 900 and the microwave oven would have worked in the year 900, what new discoveries lie in our future? What new incredible inventions would be operating four hundred years from now that we know nothing about now? If Jesus tarried another four hundred years, (I don't believe He is going to, but if He did) what is this whole planet or even the universe going to be like?

Things are going to be so different, it is going to make this time look like the stone age. People are going to say, "Can you believe how they traveled? They actually used motor cars—how pathetic!"

Four hundred years ago, if you had of talked about a motor car they would have said, "You're brain damaged! You mean people can drive along at high speeds on roads? You're just crazy! Where are the horses? How do you feed the horses?"

Now you've got 280 horses under a hood! And you can sit there and be warmed or cooled and you have seat belts and air bags—to those people it was a foreign concept, and yet today it is a living reality.

CHAPTER

5

The Wisdom Of Man Is The Foolishness Of God

WHAT I AM TRYING TO TELL YOU is that things have advanced so much, and man has gained so much knowledge, yet man with all his knowledge is really so stupid.

Man with all of his technological advances is still so stupid, he can't even cure the common cold. Today we have diseases and epidemics, that were once conquered, but now they're coming back with a vengeance. People took antibiotics and didn't finish taking the course, so the disease was able to mutate and alter itself. Now they are running out of antibiotics just to try to cure common things.

In the next five or ten years, we could be hit with medical problems like the bubonic plague or polio. Incurable tuberculosis is already on the rise. Any of these diseases could come back, and medical science could do nothing about it because the disease has mutated itself and become insensitive to the medicines we have now.

You just have to study history and see the rise and fall of various empires to see that countries come and countries go. Nations rise and nations fall, nations get strong, broaden their borders, overthrow other nations and are destroyed in turn— that's just history. That scenario has been around since the beginning of time.

Where will America be two or three hundred years from today if Jesus tarries? Will it even be here? There are so many things we don't know.

And then we have a man, going to seven years of seminary, studying the Bible, yet coming out nothing more than an educated fool, thinking that he knows everything there is to know about God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Man couldn't even drive in a motor car two hundred years ago!

Now I ask you with tears in my eyes, Pentecostal, Charismatic tears in my eyes... if man barely even knows the basics of life, then how in the world is he going to comprehend God.

We Barely Understand Each Other, Let Alone God!

My father and mother have been married fifty years, and my dad told me the other day, "Son, I've been married fifty years and I'm still trying to figure your mother out." He is still trying to understand her. If a man could be married to a woman for fifty years and that woman still be so complex that he was not able to understand her, then how in the world are we as the Church going to get a hold of the Bible and go through it from cover to cover and know everything there is to know about God? IMPOSSIBLE! IMPOSSIBLE!

What do we really know? There is a natural school where I can go and learn natural things, but how am I going to know all these other things? From the School of the Holy Ghost!

CHAPTER

6

The Church In The Middle Ages

THERE ARE WONDERFUL THINGS that God has for the Church right now, but the Church is walking in the Middle Ages. The Church says, "Oh don't go out there, the earth is flat and there are monsters out there." But the Holy Spirit says, "Yes, you can go. There's a new horizon beyond which you can travel. You can step out beyond what you know now."

Somebody's got to do it. Somebody's got to step out beyond. Listen, in the Middle Ages, some of the people who believed that the earth was round were called witches and were burnt at the stake for their beliefs. I tell you, we must have that same pioneering heart. I say this and people laugh because they think I'm joking, but I'm very serious: we must "boldly go where no man has gone before" to "brave new frontiers."

Stepping Out Of The Realm Of Reason

We've got to step out of the realm of reason, stepping out of the realm of the natural. You're not going to learn these things from somebody who does not know the Holy Ghost. Going to a person who doesn't know the Holy Spirit and asking them about spiritual things is like going to a baboon and asking the baboon about the basics of human life. In actual fact, I think the baboon could know more than what some people know!

Who knows the ways of God, who knows the thoughts of God, who knows the plans of God, who knows the mind of God? THE HOLY GHOST. You've got to trust Him, you've got to come and sit at His feet, you've got to let Him be the teacher, you've got to let Him lead you and guide you and take you into what God has for you. You're not going to know any other way than just by following your heart.

No Scriptural Precedent

People come along and say, "In the meetings there is no real scriptural precedent for some of the things that happen, as in the case of certain manifestations." Listen, there were a lot of things that Jesus did that didn't have any scriptural precedence. No where in the Bible does it say, "You shall spit in the ground and make clay and put it in a man's eyes." There was no where in the Bible that told Him He should do that, and yet when He did it, people were healed.

People get hung up on "methods," not realizing that as long as God's will and purpose is accomplished, we don't have to fight over how it was accomplished. To argue over "to spit or not to spit" is to ignore the fact that the man was totally healed— which was the main objective in the first place.

The Gospel Of The Pharisees, The Sadducees, The Wouldn’t-Sees, & The Couldn’t-Sees

This same thing must have happened when the Pharisees tried to get a hold of the ministry of Jesus. I know exactly what they did to Him—they tried to pull everything He did to pieces. "Well, Jesus, maybe You shouldn't walk on water. It's not very fair to us. We have to walk everywhere we go, and we've got to stay on land, while You get to walk on water. Besides it's a luxury that You're using. The problem is, You believe in this prosperity message and so You walk on water. Besides that's a selfish miracle because nobody else's life depends on it. You're just using God's power for Your own means. You just take God's power and You just use it and then You walk out on water. It's almost like You're just trying to show us up, aren't You? There You are walking on the water again, we have to take a boat. Who do You think You are?"

Pharisees didn't care about the good fruit in Jesus' ministry. They were more concerned about the petty things, such as what day it was when He healed people and how His disciples didn't wash their hands.

They totally missed the whole reason He was on the earth in the first place.

CHAPTER

7

God Knows More Than Us

ONE OF THE GREATEST REVELATIONS you can have is that God knows more than you do. Who then are you telling God how He must operate, when He must operate and what He must do.

I can only know certain things that are of the Spirit of God, by the Holy Ghost. That means I've got to get hooked up to the Holy Ghost like never before. I'm going to have to trust in Him, I'm going to have to learn to yield to him.

Why? Because the Holy Ghost is searching diligently, and sounding the profound and the bottomless things of God, the things that are hidden beyond man's scrutiny. So if it is beyond man's scrutiny, how in the world is man going to find out without the help of the Holy Ghost?

But the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God because it is foolishness to him (meaningless nonsense to him) neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.

The Carnal Mind Is Enmity Against God

A carnally-minded individual comes to a meeting when the Holy Ghost is moving and says, "It's rubbish, it's nonsense, I'm leaving, I'm getting out of this meeting." Why? Because the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God.

Where does that put us, dear friends? That puts us in a place of total dependency upon the Holy Spirit, a TOTAL dependency upon the third person of the Godhead. You can't trust the voice of human reason. You've got to follow your heart, what does your heart tell you? "What man knows the things of man save the Spirit of man which is in him." Your heart knows the things of you. And who knows the things of God? The Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit is in you, then you have access to the knowledge and the wisdom of God. We're tapping into the mainframe. We're hooked up into the Super Holy Spirit Information Highway. We have inside information. I don't follow my mind, because my mind does not have the capacity. My mind is too small. My random access memory is not large enough.

God Is Too Big For Your Brain

If I got all the information at the same time, it would just blow me to pieces. I couldn't even handle it.

So I learn every day in the School of the Spirit. I'm not listening to the voice of reason, I'm not trying to even comprehend with my mind. My mind has a retention problem, so I'm going to lay aside the things of my mind and open my heart and allow God to burn in me, by His Spirit, a capacity to receive the things of God.

As I go on in my life and ministry, I have found out that I'll go along in the same way for a while, then suddenly, it's almost like Jesus comes in in a special way. He touches me and it's as if He pulls back a blind and just for a few seconds, I see Him in all His glory. It changes everything. It's like everything on the inside of me realigns, and I see Him in a whole new and different way.

Just when I thought I had already known Him—SUDDENLY He opens it up—and I say, "I know nothing!"

We're not talking about the study of another human being, we are talking about God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. We're talking about God Who has no beginning and no ending, we're talking about God Who is the beginning and Who is the ending.

Our God Is An Awesome God

He is so awesome that He knows everyone on the planet at the same time. He knows exactly what they are all thinking at the same time. You don't even know what you're thinking half the time, but He knows everything.

People come to me and say, "Well I don't understand why people carry on and act the way they do in the meetings."

I don't have a problem with the way people react and carry on in the meetings: if you caught a glimpse of God, when you saw Him in all His glory, you'd also react and carry on, because He is so awesome. It's only a corpse that will not respond when it is prodded! God is so awesome, so wonderful. We must respond to Him.

I remember they asked me to go to one of the Bible cemeteries, I mean seminaries, to speak to several professors and the theologians who wanted to tear me to pieces. I got up and shared my testimony and said, "Any questions?" There was not one question. Amazing!

Before the Holy Spirit moved, they had had a lot to say in criticism, but afterwards they had nothing to say. The Holy Spirit answered every question and countered every argument.

Every time you are going to move in the Spirit, every time you are going to move in God, you have to get out of the boat of reason and you've got to walk on the water of the supernatural.

Every time.

CHAPTER

8

Paul Tells His Story

IN THIS SCRIPTURE, Paul is writing to the church at Corinth. And who could better talk about the School of the Spirit than the apostle Paul. He was a total heathen, a reprobate, but he had an encounter with God. Read this as if he is writing to you personally:

As for myself, brethren, when I came to you [I] did not come proclaiming to you the testimony and evidence or mystery or secret of God [concerning what He has done through Christ for the salvation of men] in lofty words of eloquence or human philosophy and wisdom;

For I resolved to know nothing—to be acquainted with [nothing], to make a display of the knowledge of [nothing], and to be conscious of [nothing]—among you except Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and Him crucified.

And I (passed into a state of) weakness and was in fear (dread) and great trembling [after I had come] among you.

And my language and my message were not sent forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the (Holy) Spirit and power [that is, a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them],

So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy), but in the power of God.

Yet when we are among the full-grown— spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding—we do impart a (higher) wisdom [that is, the knowledge of the divine plan previously hidden]; but it is indeed not a wisdom of this present age nor of this world or of the leaders and rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away.

But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God; [that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [that is, to lift us into the glory of His presence].

None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this; for if they had, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.

But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that,] God has prepared—made and keeps ready—for those who love Him [that is, for those who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].

Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the (Holy) Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God—the divine counsels and things hidden beyond man’s scrutiny.

For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Now we have not received the spirit (that belongs to) the world, but the (Holy) Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts (of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly) bestowed on us by God.

And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the (Holy) Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language [to those who possess the (Holy) Spirit].

But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them—of progressively recognizing, understanding and becoming better acquainted with them—because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.

But the spiritual man tries all things—[that is,] he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things; yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one.—He can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him.

For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct [Him] and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ, the Messiah, and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.

1 Corinthians 2:1-16 (Amp)

Masses of people are hungry for God to touch their lives with His Spirit.

Capacity crowds have attended the various revivals in numerous venues all around the world.

Hundreds come to surrender their lives and make Jesus their Lord and Savior as a result of the preaching of the Word.

CHAPTER

9

The Comforter Has Come

THE DISCIPLES KNEW NOTHING of the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke to them about Him and taught them that He would educate them in the things of God.

But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall—will remind you of, bring to your remembrance—everything I have told you.

John 14:26 (Amp)

But when the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener) comes Whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me.

John 15:26 (Amp)

However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say, it is profitable—good, expedient, advantageous—for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you—into close fellowship with you. But if I go away, I will send Him to you—to be in close fellowship with you.

And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness—uprightness of heart and right standing with God—and about judgment.

About sin, because they do not believe on Me— trust in, rely on and adhere to Me.

About righteousness—uprightness of heart and right standing with God—because I go to My Father and you will see Me no longer.

About judgment, because the ruler (prince) of this world [Satan] is judged and condemned and sentence already is passed upon him.

I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them nor to take them upon you, nor to grasp them now.

But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the truth—the whole, full truth. For He will not speak His own message—on His own authority—but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father, He will give the message that has been given to Him] and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come—that will happen in the future.

He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.

Everything that the Father has is Mine. That is what I meant when I said that He will take the things that are Mine and reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) them to you.

John 16:7-15 (Amp)

The Holy Spirit will show you wonderful things, things beyond the power of man to put into words. Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, told of his experiences:

True, there is nothing to be gained by it, but [as I am obliged] to boast I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago, whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows, was caught up to the third heaven.

And I know that this man was caught up into Paradise, whether in the body or away from the body I do not know, God knows.

And he heard utterances beyond the power of man to put into words, which man is not permitted to utter.

Of this same [man’s experiences] I will boast, but of myself (personally) I will not boast, except as regards my infirmities—my weaknesses.

II Corinthians 12:1-5 (Amp)

CHAPTER

10

It Is Time To Grow Up

HERE IS A SCHOOL OF THE HOLY GHOST, but I am concerned that most of the Church is basically still in kindergarten. Some people have pressed through: some have gone through the early grades, others have come into high school and some even went on to college. John G. Lake, Smith Wigglesworth and other men of God pressed in and went on into the deeper things of God.

But the body of Christ as a whole is still in the creche. It is in a toddler's toddling stage: playing around with the little duck in the little bath tub, splashing away. They are not really coming to a place of maturity, growing up in the things of God. And it is sad, dear friends. I'll tell you why the Church isn't maturing: it's because the Church is carnal.

The Church is governed by the flesh, the Church is yielding itself continually to the flesh and to the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. Those things so dominate the life of man, that twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, he is caught up in mundane, everyday little things: "What am I going to eat? What am I going to wear? Where am I going to live?" And so he misses out on the things of the Spirit.

Now with your five senses, you gain knowledge from the natural world around you. But your spirit man also has five senses. With your spirit man, you can see (if your eyes are open): you could look right through the roof—you'd see into heaven, you'd see the throne of God, you'd see the glory of God, you'd see the hosts of angels. You'd look into another realm, another dimension. You'd look beyond the natural realm that we are seeing right now and you would see into the Spirit of God.

You would be able to hear things that other people don't hear. You'd hear the angels of heaven singing. You would hear God calling you, just like Samuel when he heard God calling him. He thought it was Eli and said, "You called me?"

Eli said, "I didn't call you." This happened three times, and then the prophet of God realized that God must have been calling Samuel, so he said, "When you go and lie down again say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" And Samuel's spiritual ear was opened and he heard what other people could not hear.

You would even be able to taste the things of heaven. Just like the prophet of old, when the angel came down and let him eat the scroll, you'd be able to eat heavenly things. You would be able to feel heavenly things.

CHAPTER

11

The Realms Of God

THERE IS A REALM THAT IS MORE REAL than the natural realm, but so many are limited by what they can feel and hear and see and taste and touch, that they never experience it. I tell you, if you will allow the things of the flesh to grow smaller and grow dimmer, then the things of the Spirit of God will become more and more real to you. You will become more aware of God.

That is what happened with Enoch. The Bible says Enoch walked with God. Basically God said to Enoch, "Look, you're more with Me than you are with them anyway, so you might as well come on home. You are more in My presence than in the world."

We could step over into the realm of God, but first we have to make a conscious decision to step out of the boat of tradition, to step out of the boat of religion, to step out of the confines of the flesh.

Many Yield To The Enemy, But We Must Learn To Yield To The Holy Spirit

There are those who serve the wicked one, who have allowed the demonic forces to possess their life. Under the influence of demons, they murder, plot and plan and scheme.

They do all kinds of evil and witchcraft, debauchery, and all the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5. (Witchcraft is a work of the flesh, whether you realize it or not, and is also listed in Galatians 5.)

God on the other hand wants people who are not going to give themselves to the things of the flesh or to the demonic spirits, but who are going to yield to the Holy Spirit of God.

God Wants You To Yield Yourself

He wants to possess your vessel. He wants you to allow Him to come and live in you and walk with you. He wants you to allow Him to guide you and direct you. He wants you to see things the way they really are, that you would be caught up in the heavenly realms, that you would look through God's eyes. He wants you to allow Him to speak through your mouth, that you would be an oracle of God.

God would blow into you with the breath of His nostrils and He would possess you and cause you to rise up and to walk in heavenly places. He wants you to go and do great and wonderful things, just like Philip, who was caught away and translated in the book of Acts. He was talking to the Ethiopian Eunuch and then was caught away and was found at a place called Azotus, ninety miles away. He was caught away in the glory of God.

CHAPTER

12

Living The High Life

WHAT HAPPENED TO PHILIP couldn't happen to many people today because they walk in such a low level of spiritual life, they walk in such a carnal realm. But there is a higher place, and bless God, we're getting to that place, we're pressing in, we're stepping over.

Don’t Worry About The Counterfeit, Contend For The Real

Some people are afraid of the counterfeit. Remember that the devil has never created anything—all he can do is pervert the holy things of God. He has taken the word of knowledge and perverted it into fortune telling and divination. The Church, because of fear of being labeled in excess, backs off the word of knowledge because they don't want it to be said that they are fortune telling.

The Church in many instances has backed off anything supernatural because they are afraid of being labeled as operating in the realm of the demonic.

But look at what happened with Moses. When Moses stood in front of Pharaoh, he took his rod and threw it down and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh's men came, and they threw down their rods and they also became serpents. If Moses was alive today, the Pentecostal Charismatic world got a hold of him and say, "Moses was operating by a devil" and "Moses was of the devil." But here's the rest of the story, Moses' serpent ate up all their serpents, proving that the power of God is greater than the power of the devil.

God Can Do Whatever, However, Whenever Because He Is God

God can do whatever He wants to because He is God. He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Even though Moses' rod became a serpent and the enemy could counterfeit that, God's miracle prevailed over the devil's miracle. Just because something is supernatural doesn't mean it is demonic.

Remember this: there is the demonic side, but there is also the heavenly side, the glory side, the God side. There is Almighty God manifesting Himself.

Unfortunately people in the Church today think that everything that is supernatural must be demonic. But if everything were demonic then what in the world is God doing? Where is God? Has He left the planet? Has He gone to another solar system? Has He left the universe? What is He doing?

People tell me, "Ah, Brother Rodney, we need to test the spirits." All these people who come along, trying to test the spirits, are so bound up in the head. You cannot judge the things of the Spirit with your head or your natural senses. You judge by your born-again spirit.

I ask them, "How do you test the spirits?"

They say, "Well you've got to get it to confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh."

I have had people come up to me and say, "Confess Jesus Christ has come in the flesh."

I look at them and say, "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh."

Now suddenly they don't know what to say because I passed the test. I said, "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh."

CHAPTER

13

Christ Has Come In The Flesh

f f TESUS CHRIST HAS COME IN THE FLESH" is not a I cliche that you just throw out. It is more than that. It is the lifestyle that comes out of your whole life, out of your whole being. It comes out when you walk and when you talk and when you lie down and sleep. Your whole life declares that Jesus has come in the flesh. If you walked up to somebody who was sick, you wouldn't even have to say, "In the name of Jesus, be healed." You could just say, "Be healed," because you know what is behind what you are saying, because you operate according to the life of God within you.

The Parable Of The Traffic Officer

It is like a traffic officer who is standing in the middle of traffic. One thing he doesn't have to do is get up in the middle of the intersection and rant and rave and scream, "I'm a traffic officer, you listen to me!" Everybody can see his badge, they know who he is and what he stands for. He stands there, holds his hand up, and the traffic comes to a screeching halt. He stands in his authority.

And so it is with the believer who walks in his full authority. He just snaps his finger and the devil jumps, because he knows when you know your authority.

But if the traffic officer stood in the traffic in his underwear, he could scream, rant, and rave, but in the end they are going to peel him off the front grille of a Mack truck. When you don't have that badge, you don't have the authority.

There are realms of God that have not even been tapped into. There are realms of God that man has never walked in.

Don’t Listen To The Modern-Day Pharisees

We've got people coming along, playing with their rubber ducks, and trying to tell college graduates how to run experiments and how to do things. They don't even know the first thing about God. They have a bunch of head knowledge, but they've never seen God. They have never met up with Him. They don't know Him.

I doubt whether some of them are even saved. They are false brethren, who have crept in amongst us to spy on the liberty we have in Christ. That's all they are.

They want to come and tell me about the Holy Ghost, that He is not real, and that tongues is of the devil. Excuse you! They want to tell me that this joy is of the devil. What pipe are they smoking? You must really be warped, when you feel that joy is of the devil.

That I May Know Him

They've never really seen the Resurrection, they've never really seen Pentecost, they have never really experienced that Pentecostal power. I know Him: He is an awesome God, He is a consuming fire. I know Him, I have caught a glimpse of Him. I don't know how to explain Him because I don't have the capacity, my tongue runs short of words. I caught a glimpse of Him in my heart. I wish I could tell you, but I don't know how to put it in the English language.

CHAPTER

14

Taught By The Holy Spirit

I want you to know, brethren, that the Gospel which was proclaimed and made known by me is not man’s gospel—a human invention, according to or patterned after any human standard. For indeed

I did not receive it from man.

Galatians 1:11 (Amp)

Where did Paul get his gospel from? He did not go somewhere to study for it. He said he didn't receive it from man, so where did he get it from? He says:

Nor was I taught it; [it came to me] through a [direct] revelation [given] by Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

Galatians 1:12 (Amp)

Paul learned it in the School of the Spirit, the School of the Holy Ghost. You can learn more in the School of the Spirit in one hour than you will in five years of seminary. It's fine if you want to go to seminary, if you want to study, but you'd better be open to the Holy Ghost and let Him teach you.

Be sure that it goes not just into your head, an assimilation of knowledge, but that it drops down within you and becomes real to you. Then it becomes a life application, it becomes workable in your life.

Paul tells of his days in the School of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 1:13-2:1. In verse 18, we see three years pass. In Galatians 2:1, he says, "Then after an interval of fourteen years.... " We see three years plus fourteen years, for a total of seventeen years spent studying with the Holy Spirit.

What does that tell me?

It's a life school, it's not a two or three-year course!

They Judge Me Out Of The Evil Of Their Own Hearts

People walk in off the street, into our meetings, who don't know me. They don't know anything about me or my family, my upbringing, or my children: they don't know anything. They walk in and want to correct me. They want to tell me what I should do and how I should do it.

I just say, "Hey, I've been privately to people of repute and I did exactly what Paul did." Paul said:

I went because it was specially and divinely revealed to me that I should go, and I put before them the Gospel, [declaring to them that] which I preach among the Gentiles. However, [I presented the matter] privately before those of repute, [for I wanted to make certain, by thus at first confining my communication to this private conference] that

I was not running or had not run in vain.

Galatians 2:2 (Amp)

We have already done that, years ago. We have men of God around the world, some of them in their eighties and nineties with whom we spent many hours talking and running through the scriptures. We've already got it signed and sealed. We're not looking for anyone else's approval—we have confirmed what we believe with people who know God.

CHAPTER

15

Speak With Boldness

ONE OF THE REASONS I CAN STAND HERE and speak with authority and boldness is because I have got a group of people behind me that you can't see. I've got people with me from all over the world, men of reputation, men of God who have spent many years before God. I've spent hours with them, running through all these things, and they are with me, they are behind me.

So when I stand to preach, I can speak with boldness. I'm not just a maverick, I'm not just somebody out there shooting six guns into the air trying to prove something. Why should I suddenly now submit to somebody who doesn't even know to come in when it's raining, who just walks into the meeting not knowing anything about me saying, "You're of the devil."

I don't need that in my life. People say, "Would you sit down and talk about it?" There is nothing to talk about, there is absolutely nothing to talk about.

"Well, they don't like the way you operate." Well I don't like the way they operate. It is not even open to discussion.

Someone says, "Well, you're not even open to be teachable." On the contrary, we've already spent many hours and days and weeks and months checking these things out so we can now stand in authority and boldness and preach the Word. There is a difference.

After Paul checked with men of God of good reputation, and found they were with him, he was also bold:

But [all went well]; even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled [as some had anticipated] to be circumcised, although he was a Greek.

[My precaution was] because of [some men who were Christians in name only], false brethren who had been secretly smuggled in [to the Christian brotherhood]; they had slipped in to spy on our liberty and the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might again bring us into bondage [under the Law of Moses].

"To them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the Gospel might continue to be [preserved] for you [in its purity].

Galatians 2:3-5 (Amp)

In the face of criticism against his ministry, Paul did not back off the truth of God's Word for even a moment.

There are things that God wants to reveal to the Church. How do you learn these things? By the Holy Ghost. You have to get saved, that is the first thing that will help you. Secondly, get full of the Holy Ghost. How are you going to learn the things of God without the Holy Ghost?

Some of you say, "Well, how can you trust the Holy Spirit." If you can't trust Him, how can you even know for sure you are saved? Then you're really in trouble, aren't you?

The Wheels Of The Revival

With this great outpouring of the Spirit of God that is upon us, we don't throw away any of the things that we have learned over the last thirty years. These are now the wheels upon which the new revival will run. We don't throw it out, we are adding to it.

God is leading us on, and we are following the glory of God. We are following the Holy Spirit—He is teaching us, prompting us, leading us, guiding us.

You'll know when you miss it. The moment you miss it, you feel it down on the inside. The Spirit of God will let you know it.

Then what do you do? Repent. Say, "God forgive me, I'll never do that again. I stepped out and made a mistake. I thought it was You but it wasn't."

There is nothing wrong with making a mistake. You may miss it a couple of times, but the Holy Spirit is so gracious. You have got to learn, you have got to practice.

CHAPTER

16

Follow The Unction

OU HAVE TO LEARN to follow the unction, follow the anointing. The Bible is not just a cold, hard book of facts. Jesus said, "The words I give you are spirit and life." The Word of God will produce emotions in people. The Word of God will explode within like a Holy Ghost atomic bomb going off on the inside of them, producing joy, producing repentance. People will just weep before God, broken before God. That is what the Word of God is designed to do.

It's got nothing to do with emotions or hype: that's what the Word of God is designed to do. As the Word goes out, it is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing and dividing the soul and the spirit, the joints and the marrow. The Word is the discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. The Word cuts right down into the depths of the heart of man. The Word is like a hammer that breaks the rock into pieces.

The Word is like a fire, it purges, it cleanses, it gets the vessel ready for what God wants it to do. Then the Spirit of God comes in and fills that vessel up, and it becomes a vessel sanctified for the Master's use. It doesn't have to be a vessel of wood and hay and stubble, it can be a vessel of gold—sanctified, a vessel unto honor.

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17

The Prayers Paul Prayed

WE'VE GOT TO ASK GOD TO WORK in us, to build the capacity within us to receive all that heaven has for us. We need to pray that our eyes of understanding would be enlightened. Let me show you in the book of Ephesians the prayers that Paul prayed. You can pray them and they will help you.

[For I always pray] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation—of insight into mysteries and secrets—in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,

By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints—His set-apart ones,

And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,

Which He exerted in Christ when He raised

Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],

Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named—above every title that can be conferred—not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.

And He has put all things under His feet and has appointed Him the universal and supreme Head of the church (a headship exercised throughout the church),

Which is His body, the fullness of Him Who fills all in all—for in that body lives the full measure of Him Who makes everything complete, and Who fills everything everywhere [with Himself].

Ephesians 1:17-23 (Amp)

Paul prayed that our eyes of understanding would be enlightened. Most of the body of Christ have their eyes of understanding dulled. All they've been listening to is a bunch of Pharisees, Sadducees, Wouldn't-sees and Couldn't-sees. Everything Jesus did, they couldn't see and wouldn't see. That's why they were sad you see.

For this reason [seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ], I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

For Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named—[that Father] from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name.

May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the (Holy) Spirit

The Prayers Paul Prayed

[Himself]—indwelling your innermost being and personality.

May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell —settle down, abide, make His permanent home— in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,

That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints (God’s devoted people, the experience of that love) what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];

[That you may really come] to know— practically, through experience for yourselves—the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience); that you may be filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God —[that is] may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!

Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams—

To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (Amp)

How are you going to know the love of Christ? By the Holy Ghost. By practically experiencing it for yourself. Some people put us down, saying, "They're just into experience." But you need to be. You need to experience the love of Christ for yourself. It far surpasses mere knowledge without experience. Then you can say, "I've experienced the love of God. I know more than people that just know about the love of God, because I've experienced it. I've tasted it, I've sat at the table, I've eaten of it." You're coming to a different place of knowing.

I've been up on the mountain, I've seen the Promised Land. I've tasted of the powers of the world to come. I've caught a glimpse of the realms of God. Everything else is pale in comparison. I get to thinking about these things and I get so drunk on the Holy Ghost, I get so beside myself, just totally beside myself. God will just overwhelm me by His presence—by how great and how wonderful and how awesome He is.

No wonder the Psalmist asks, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visiteth him?" (Psalm 8:4).

There is an old song which says:

How big is God,

How big and wide is His vast domain,

To begin to tell these lips can only start.

He's big enough to rule this mighty universe

Yet small enough to dwell within my heart.

How does He do it? I don't know, and I don't care. He is God, and He is awesome.

CHAPTER

18

Conclusion

SO YOU WANT TO GO to the School of the Holy Ghost? You're in it. When you finish reading this book then begin by calling on Him daily, "Holy Spirit, teach me. Holy Spirit, show me. Holy Spirit, lead me. Holy Spirit, guide me. Holy Spirit, take the Word and make it real to me. Holy Spirit, show me things to come, make Jesus more alive to me, help me to pray, and show me the Father."

That's how you enter the School of the Spirit, by acknowledging, every day, every moment, His leading, His guiding, His wisdom. Acknowledge you need wisdom, power, and victory for the day. Lean upon, rely upon the Holy Spirit. Sit in His lap. Come and let Him teach you things. Come and let Him show you things.

Biography

DR. RODNEY M. HOWARD-BROWNE is President and Founder of Revival Ministries International. RMI, as it is commonly known, is a ministry that crosses denominational boundaries and geographical borders to fulfill what the Lord has called it to do—to stir up the Church, telling her to get ready for the coming revival.

In December 1987, Rodney Howard-Browne, along with his wife, Adonica, and their three children, Kirsten, Kelly and Kenneth, moved to the United States to be a part of what the Lord had told Rodney in a word of prophecy. The Lord said, "As America has sown missionaries over the last 200 years, I am going to raise up people from other nations to come to the United States of America." He also said that He was sending a mighty revival to America.

Rodney and his family have been traveling as missionaries in North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Revival meetings conducted by Rodney Howard-Browne last from one to four weeks and are reminiscent of revivals of the past, with unusual and powerful demonstrations of the Holy Spirit in every meeting. Salvations, rededications, water baptisms, and baptisms in the Holy Spirit are often accompanied by miracles, signs and wonders.

IN THIS BOOK, RODNEY HOWARD-BROWNE sets a solid, biblical foundation for hearing from God. From his wealth of experience, he encourages and exhorts you to step out beyond the natural, to step out of the realm of reason, of tradition and religion.

Enroll in the School of the Holy Spirit. Let the Holy Spirit teach you. Let Him open your spiritual eyes and your spiritual ears. And let Him reveal to you the bottomless things of God!

Rodney Howard-Browne and his family travel as missionaries throughout North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Rodney is anointed of God to stir up the Church to get her ready for the mighty coming revival.

In his meetings, salvations, rededica tions, water baptisms, and baptisms in the Holy Spirit are accompanied by miracles, signs, and wonders, as well as unusual manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

Table of Contents

The Bottomless Things Of God

You're Never Too Old To Learn

Life Is A School

There Is A Price To Pay

The Wisdom Of Man Is The Foolishness Of God

The Church In The Middle Ages

God Knows More Than Us

Paul Tells His Story

The Comforter Has Come

It Is Time To Grow Up

The Realms Of God

Living The High Life

Christ Has Come In The Flesh

Taught By The Holy Spirit

Speak With Boldness

Follow The Unction

The Prayers Paul Prayed

Conclusion

Biography